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Denver metro area's first baby of the year born in Wheat Ridge

By Jordan Steffen The Denver Post

Posted:
01/01/2013 03:50:42 PM MST

Updated:
01/02/2013 09:21:40 AM MST

Forest Demaree and Shannon Hall of Arvada take turns holding their new son Lyrik Robert Sky Hall-Demaree at Exempla Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge on Tuesday. Lyrik was born at 12:45 a.m. on January 1, making him the first baby of the new year in the Denver metro area. (Patrick Traylor, The Denver Post)

Baby Lyrik may be one of the firsts, but he certainly did not appear to be in any kind of hurry.

Five days past their due date, and after 21 hours of labor, Shannon Hall and Forest Demaree welcomed their son, Lyrik Robert Sky Hall-Demaree, into the world at 12:45 a.m. on New Year's Day, making Lyrik the metro area's first baby of the year.

"We were joking last night that he might be the first baby," Hall said. "When he arrived at 12:45, we were both like, 'Nah, that's way too late.' "

The new parents had hoped their first child would arrive on New Year's Eve. In addition to ringing in the New Year with a banner draped across their hospital room and paper hats, the family also celebrated Demaree's 21st birthday Monday.

The new parents had a hard time taking their eyes off the baby boy, whose thick black hair spilled out from underneath a tiny knitted cap. As Hall, 19, handed Lyrik to Demaree, she silently counted all of the baby's tiny fingers. Demaree swayed while holding his squirming son, stopping every few seconds to smile at Hall.

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"She was such a trooper," Demaree said. "If she wouldn't have kept it together, I wouldn't have been able to keep it together."

Lyrik, whose name comes from his mother's love of music, already appears to share his mother's passion.

When Hall heard her son cry for the first time, she immediately started singing a family lullaby to the newborn. His cries stopped almost as soon as they started.

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